Building Civic Bridges Act

Mobilizing business to support legislation to reduce polarization and support community bridgebuilding

In an era of deepening divides, many companies are witnessing firsthand how contentious social and political issues create workplace conflict and reduce productivity. A 2022 SHRM study found that 45% of American workers experienced political disagreements at work, and 13% have even experienced bullying in the workplace to do their political views. These trends are leading to lower work quality, productivity, toxic work environments, and turnover. 

This is why we support reintroduction of the bipartisan Building Civic Bridges Act (BCBA), which will help reduce polarization and heal America’s current social and political divides. The legislation would provide much-needed support for civic bridgebuilding programs through grants to help nonprofit organizations expand their reach and accessibility. Civic bridgebuilding programs are proven to be effective in helping people from different backgrounds come together to have meaningful, productive conversations.

The House bill was introduced on March 15th while the Senate bill has just been introduced in the Senate on April 22nd. The act calls for a new Office of Civic Bridgebuilding to be created within AmeriCorps that would help communities build relationships across lines of difference. AmeriCorps would focus on these key activities:

• Administer a $25M grant program to support civic bridgebuilding programs across the nation.
• Encourage collaboration between AmeriCorps and other federal agencies with experience and expertise in related civic bridgebuilding work.
• Elevate public conversation about the importance of civic bridgebuilding.

Introduced by Representatives Derek Kilmer (D-WA) and Andy Barr (R-KY) in the House, and Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Toddy Young (R-IN) in the Senate, the legislation enjoys significant bipartisan support with an almost equal number of Republican and Democrat co-sponsors.

“Toxic division among Americans isn’t only a threat to our social fabric and system of government; it’s also a barrier to our economic competitiveness,” said Sarah Bonk, founder of Business for America. “The business community is proud to back the bipartisan Building Civic Bridges Act, which is a pragmatic investment in proven solutions to help foster dialogue, bridge differences, and heal divides in our communities.”

Passage of the BCBA is an important step towards restoring social cohesion and building a vibrant economic future for our country. We applaud the legislation’s focus on locally-based solutions, where businesses can play a key role.